Muvico mural now monument to ignorance
5/27/2010
Ignorance has overtaken this area and, I shudder to say, the country. In reading about the Muvico mural, I cried tears of frustration.
I started noticing the influx of ignorance a couple of years ago when a new shopping center at State Routes 3 and 301 was contested because it would ruin the "country feel of the area."
Apparently, the Sheetz and 7-Eleven already at that location did not affect the pastoral scenery.
There was recent opposition to a Walmart at State Routes 3 and 20 because it would "ruin the battlefield."
I can assure you that the Sheetz, 7-Eleven, liquor store, and Chinese restaurant at that location were not there during the Civil War.
Now we have the argument that the Confederate flag intermingled in the mural at Muvico was offensive. It is to be replaced with the flag of Virginia.
Perhaps these offended people do not realize that Virginia was a slave-holding state, and this is the same flag flown before and after the Civil War.
In fact, the U.S. flag was flown over slave-holding states. Let’s not even delve into the history of the Union Jack displayed at the Fredericksburg Pub.
When will the ignorance stop? We cannot erase the past to mollify the sentiments of the present.
I was always told as a child that common sense can’t be taught. This is unfortunate, for in addition to history lessons, we desperately need lessons in common sense.
Until then, we will have to insult our society with ignorance disguised as "political correctness."
As I finish this letter, it occurs to me that I have probably wasted an hour of my life. It seems futile to fight ignorance.
In the words of Mark Twain, "Never argue with an idiot. They’ll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."
Craig A. Bourne
Stafford
